


all of time and space and every star that ever was

by captainhurricane



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Lions sacrificed instead of you know, M/M, mostly just me loving sheith, sort of a character study and sort of a relationship study, vague references to canon, what s8? there was no s8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:27:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21790795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainhurricane/pseuds/captainhurricane
Summary: Stars took away, but they also gave back.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	all of time and space and every star that ever was

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know a vld but i know sheith 
> 
> happy one year wedding anniversary to them, i can't believe it's been one year since show ended with their wedding. i've since taken myself out of most fandoms, sheith fandom too (sorry), but nothing will take away my love for this pair. 
> 
> btw the title is a mashup of two different doctor who quotes because stars + sheith are a great combo don't @ me

It’s mostly thanks to Keith’s father: it’s Kieran Kogane who buys the telescope and sets it up, who leads little Keith by his little hand and sits with him during long hours of the night, pointing out constellations and the billion, billion worlds out there. Keith had been too young to truly understand, but the spark had been born, back then, in the arms of his father, the low rumble of his father’s voice making him drift to sleep. 

Sometimes, but only sometimes, Kieran might have told Keith of his mother, mentioned a name that Keith couldn’t remember, told Keith of her strength, her fierceness, the beauty of her laughter. For every question of where she is, Kieran had only ruffled Keith’s hair. 

_ She’s gone. She left to protect both of us. But especially you. Wherever your mother is, she loves you. Like I love you, son.  _

Then - 

Kieran Kogane had gone to the stars, no, beyond them. But the spark had remained, an ache as eternal as mankind itself. Keith grew up and fought, cherished his solitude, but craved company all the same. 

He went back to that little home in the desert, but the telescope had been long gone by that point, leaving only memories of his father’s voice, of looking up, up, and knowing that Keith’s place is in there, among the stars. So he fights his way to the top at the Garrison, this school for the young and hopeful, promising a way to make it to the stars, to conquer them like mankind has already conquered each other. Solitude makes Keith grow an armour, protection from the jabs of immature classmates, from the warmth of his upperclassmen - from him, especially. 

Shiro is relentless, gentle. None of Keith’s bad moods, bad days, sorrowful words take away the fact that quickly, so quickly, Shiro begins to mean hope. Shiro, unlike everyone else, above all else, believes. He praises Keith’s successes in simulators, in tests, mentors him through rough patches and always ruffles his hair, calls him kid with amused eyes. It’s Shiro who ends up finding a way for Keith to watch the stars again, to see the same constellations he watched with his father. It’s during a long hour of a long night, curled up under blankets, that Keith tells Shiro of his father, his mother. Of the stars that swallowed them both. 

_ I’m sorry you have been alone for so long,  _ murmurs Shiro. 

_ Pa was a hero, _ murmurs Keith.  _ That’s what they say. He rescued those people at the cost of his own life. I was six. What about me, Shiro? What about my life? _

It’s the first time Keith lets himself be hugged, consoled. It’s the first and last time in a very long time, that he cries in front of someone else. Shiro’s arms are steady and strong, Shiro’s silence a comfort. His big hand cradles the back of Keith’s head, his fingers sliding through Keith’s hair, already growing longer and longer. Shiro’s heart beats a steady rhythm. 

Shiro buys him a smaller telescope a week later, as an early birthday present. Presents it to Keith with a little smile. For someone so young, Shiro is already a leader, already respected, loved, admired, worshipped. For Keith, Shiro is his only friend, his only support and a source of strength. 

If Keith has Shiro, if Keith can keep Shiro, then life doesn’t seem so bad.

  
  


Of course, life has other plans: Shiro is swallowed up by the stars, the news of his presumed death a stab on Keith’s already shattered heart. He runs to the desert, leaves behind a smoking ruin of a career in space. 

He will ascend, he will shake off the dust of this desert, of this planet and see what else is there. So he does. But first: Shiro returns to Keith’s life, changed, darkened, a kind soul burned and shattered, new shadows in his aged eyes. The others are old classmates, loud, annoying, brash, but brave in the face of their fears. 

The space welcomes them all, the infinity of it all awe-inspiring, frightening, glorious. For the first time in forever, Keith feels almost at home. An age-old battle rages, the war rips the universe apart: planets are destroyed, shattered, planets are saved. Keith forms bonds he never thought possible. He finds a new family among these stars, forms an unbreakable bond with his Lion, this mechanical, magical being. 

Earth is a distant memory, just a little star among many others: it is just a place, not a destination. It is merely one half of what Keith is, of who he is: a boy, a man made of stardust and inner fire. 

Through it all, Shiro remains a constant: a calming presence, a man matured way too quickly, way too early for his age. Sometimes Shiro is like Atlas, his shoulders heavy with burdens he never should have to carry. Keith does what he can to ease it up, finds himself being the caretaker, the protector this time. If the others are his family, then Shiro is - 

Shiro is - 

Shiro is something else, something Keith can’t name, not just yet. 

Space and the stars give Keith back his mother, in the end. She is as fierce and strong as Keith remembers from his father’s stories: her arms are warm and steady, her heartbeat calm. She calls Keith kit, ruffles his hair, kisses his cheek and has tears in her eyes as she promises to never abandon him again. She is more like Keith than Keith’s father was: it’s from this woman, Krolia, a warrior from the stars, that Keith had inherited his sharp features, his eyes, the twist of his smile. 

  
  


Stars took away, but they also gave back. 

  
  


The battles are fought, the war is won. Sacrifices are made, leaving despair, sorrow in their wake. The Lions are gone, gone into the stars that gave birth to them, going on a new adventure just for them. They waited, after all, for thousands of years to win an unwinnable war. 

Those who are left, can feel their bonds to those Lions retreat, become tiny, tiny embers. 

  
  


In the first day of peace, Keith takes Shiro’s hand, knowing, it’s always going to be here now. 

“Let’s go home,” Keith whispers against Shiro’s shoulder. 

Shiro, determined, stubborn, forced to fight for his life so long, still aches with the need to travel. Shiro smiles. “Let’s go.” 

  
  


So they go, they say their goodbyes to friends and family, scattered into a more united universe. Shiro and Keith take a ship and - - and, oh, Krolia is going to be furious to miss this, but this is something both Shiro and Keith need. They have each other and the eternity now, they can have a thousand weddings if they wish to. But this is just for them. Their rings are worn around their necks, promises exchanged in kisses, in shared smiles, in shared pain and sorrow and longing. Keith has lost Shiro too many times, and Shiro has been lost too many times. 

You saved me, Shiro had said once. 

We saved each other, Keith had replied. 

Saved from solitude, from foster homes, from barbed words. From hostile aliens, from death a thousand times over, from the destruction of reality itself. Just so they can be here now, right now: in this little ship of theirs, floating in the middle of the stars, Keith comfortably curled up on Shiro’s lap. Keith’s long legs stretched over the armrest, smile buried against Shiro’s snow-white hair. 

“You’re not looking, baby,” Shiro murmurs. “You missed the shooting star!”

“No, I didn’t.” Keith presses a kiss to his husband’s temple. His husband. His husband of one year and counting. “My star is right here.” His cheeks flush with such words, but as always, Keith stands by his words. 

Shiro squeezes his waist tighter. “Happy anniversary, baby.” 

“Happy anniversary.” Keith closes his eyes. He is home. He has hope. He has a family, and friends, and a universe of infinite possibilities and eternal adventures. 

Shiro’s heart beats a steady rhythm, lulling Keith to sleep. 


End file.
